The 2019 Race Season is in full swing, with events happening all over this great country of ours. From cars going really fast in a straight line, to cars generating lots of smoke while driving sideways, racers everywhere are finding that there is nothing out there better than the efficiency and reliability of Vortech Centrifugal Superchargers. Over the last week, Vortech Supercharged racing action could be found at multiple events, and multiple types of events. Here are just a few of the highlights...

Formula Drift Long Beach

The roster of cars running the proven Vortech Supercharged combination in the Formula Drift ranks this season has grown to include 4 Drivers in Pro 1, and several more in Pro 2...and we couldn't be more excited! The efficient boost that comes from a Vortech Centrifugal Supercharger makes for reliable, consistent, and repeatable power that the drivers in Formula Drift can rely on run after run, event after event.

Matt Field

Our main man Matt Field came into FDLB ready to get down to business, as evidenced by his near perfect Round 2 Qualifying run that rocketed him straight into the #1 Spot. His awe-inpiring 99 point run was good enough to keep Field solidly at #1 throughout the rest of the qualifying rounds.

Matt continued his drive into Eliminations, where he was able to best Jeff Jones in Round 1 and Ken Gushi in Round 2. The weekend came to a close for Field in Run #2 of Round 3 on his chase lap vs. Chris Forsberg, where a mistake caused him to spin and put him out of the running.

Matt's performance at the Season Opener earned him 54 points, which puts him into 5th Place in the standings going into Round #2 in Orlando later this month.

Aurimas "Odi" Bakchis

Odi may be the one to watch this season. Coming in 3rd in the Formula Drift Final Standings in the 2017 Season and 4th in 2016 Season, a focused and determined Bakchis was looking to continue his rise this season after a few setbacks in 2018.

Bakchis was impressive in qualifying, earning himself the 5th place spot going into Eliminations. With his normal spotter resting at home with their brand new 2 week old baby, Odi enlisted our favorite Falken Tire celebrity J-Brad as his fill-in spotter in Long Beach. That seemed to work out just fine though, as Bakchis was able to defeat the Ferrari driven by Federico Sceriffo in Round 1, Michael Essa and his E46 BMW in Round 2, and the Ford Mustang driven by Justin Pawlak in Round 3.

The finals saw Odi Bakchis vs. Forrest Wang going head to head with dueling S Chassis Nissans. Odi made it clear that he would not be denied, especially on his chase lap, where Odi successfully kept his Vortech V-7 YSi-B Supercharged Nissan S14 in super tight proximity to Wang's S15.

When the smoke cleared, it was Aurimas "Odi" Bakchis who was the Champion of Formula Drift Long Beach 2019. Congrats to Odi and his team on a job well done!

Ryan Litteral/KoruWorks

Ryan and the KoruWorks team are back after their shakedown season in 2018 with a new livery and renewed purpose. Their Vortech V-7 YSi-B Supercharged 350Z looking sweeter than ever, the boys qualified mid-pack and came into Top 32 Eliminations looking to make some moves.

Round 2 of Eliminations saw Litteral up against 2018 Season Runner-Up and most winning driver in Formula Drift History, Fredric Aasbo in his Yellow Toyota Corolla. After the 2 runs, it was Aasbo who moved on, be we are definitely looking forward to seeing Litteral and the Koruworks car in Orlando later this month!

Pat Goodin

After taking the 2018 Season off from Formula Drift, Pat Goodin is back for 2019 piloting the Vortech Supercharged Drift Cave Nissan S14.5. After qualifying mid-pack, Goodin was poised to do battle in Top 32.

Although sporting a gorgeous new livery, this Nissan has a proven combination that Matt Field ran for several seasons before he changed up to his new C6 Corvette. Capable and set up right with a Vortech V-7 YSi-B Supercharged LS-Powerplant, Goodin has the equipment to take on anyone in the field (pun not intended). However, this would not be Goodin's day, as he came up against the Chelsea DeNofa and his Ford Mustang in Round 1 of Eliminations, who was able to end Goodin's outing in Long Beach. On to Orlando and more great driving for Goodin coming later this month!

Daniel Pachar & Hired Help

Triangle Speed's "Hired Help" Mustang piloted by Daniel Pachar is making quite a name in the No Prep Racing community. Traveling all over the country and winning all sorts of races, without any sign of slowing down. Most recently, Pachar & crew mowed down the field at the Dirty South No Prep Series event at Gulfport Dragway in Gulfport, MS. The Vortech V-30 123A Supercharged powerhouse ran through the Small Tire Class with purpose and determination...all the while demonstrating the efficiency and repeatability of what Vortech Centrifugal Superchargers can do.

This Small Tire Class win at Dirty South No Prep is one more win for Pachar & Triangle Speed as they criss-cross the country. How many more wins will these boys rack up this season? Keep an eye out for these boys when they roll into your town!

Brian Brooks

Brian Brooks came out from Colorado to North Star Dragway for the Radial Tire Racing Association's Texas Radial Roundup event. Brooks' GM-LS powered and Vortech V-30 102A Supercharged White Fox Body Mustang Coupe was primed and ready for battle, thanks to help from Atlas Performance Engines, Chris @ Lunsford Engineering, and Vortech Superchargers' own Lance Keck.

The 14 car X275 field was chock full of great cars, but Brooks had more than enough to cover them, running deadly consistent 4.35's and 4.36's all weekend @ 160+ mph. Brooks met and took out a pair of Big Block Nitrous Mustangs in the Semi-Final and Finals, Shane Heckel in the Semi-Finals and Kenny Rodriguez in the Finals. When asked about his win Brian thanked Atlas Performance and Lunsford Engineering, but was outspoken about his choice on running Vortech. "I want people to know - We run Vortech for reliability. We see other teams having to change out blowers between rounds, and with the Vortech we just do not have to do that."

Congratulations to Brian Brooks on his RTRA win in Texas, and we look forward to seeing him again at their next race in Tulsa, OK.

Craig Walls

Cecil Country Dragway's Outlaw Streetcar Shootout saw Craig Walls and the Jade Grenade come out for some X275 action. The car boasts a Vortech V-30 102A Supercharged, SC1 headed 427 cubic inch Ford engine built by Mark Benston and dialed in by Patrick Barnhill of PTP Racing. Walls eliminated Craig Costa in Round 1, but unknowingly broke an anti-roll bar in the process. When it came to Round 2, Walls knew something was amiss when the car pulled left and he got off the throttle, saving the car for another day.

Keep an eye out for Craig Walls & The Jade Grenade when they come to an X275 event near you this summer!

NMRA/NMCA

Terry Reeves/Team Beefcake Racing

Terry and crew came out to Atlanta to represent Vortech Superchargers and run his 2018 Mustang GT street car in Open Comp to show how a Vortech Supercharger System can take an S550 deep into the 9's at over 152 mph, and still be a completely streetable, daily drivable car.

Alton Clements

Alton Clements was in Atlanta running his Vortech V-30 94A Supercharged Fox Body Mustang in the Renegade/Xtreme Street class. Alton & crew are still making adjustments after some significant changes made over the winter, but were still able to post some great runs in the 4.8 second range at over 145 mph. We are looking forward to seeing them at more events this season.

Roxanne Shepard

Those who have followed NMRA racing for years should be familiar with Roxanne & Barry Shepard, and Roxanne's Mustang "Tweety". These days, Roxanne is racing Tweety in the Modular Muscle class, with Barry acting as crew chief. It is always great to see them and their smiling faces out at events, and look forward to lots more racing action from them this season.

Sondra Leslie

Sondra and her Limited Street Mustang are posting some truly fast times, thanks to her Vortech V-2 Ti-Trim Supercharged Coyote powerplant that is dialed in thanks to help from Ken Bjonnes @ Palm Beach Dyno. Leslie has been one of the few cars in the class able to break the 8 second barrier, and during qualifying in Atlanta, ran this 8.768 E.T. @ 157.14 mph.

We are looking forward to Sondra & crew pushing the 8 second barrier even further this season!

All this action is only the beginning of yet another extremely exciting Vortech Supercharged racing season! Stay tuned for more coverage of Vortech action that is sure to include many more victories and championships this season!

Special thanks and photo/video credit to KB Photography, Formula Drift, Larry Chen, 9NINE2, Andrew Schwartz, Finishline Productions, Mark Benston Jr, and Promedia.